Location: Wellington
Top Restaurants in Wellington
Wellington Food Guide: 10 Must-Eat Restaurants & Street Food Stalls in Wellington
Wellington boasts a compact downtown area that’s easy to explore on foot and a wealth of architectural styles, from 19th-century wooden cottages to Art Deco masterpieces. Discover the city’s Maori roots at the Museum of Wellington City & Sea and the Museum of New Zealand. Sip coffee and people-watch in lively Courtney Place, or survey the city from scenic Mount Victoria. When the sun goes down on Windy Wellington, take a nocturnal tour of Karori Wildlife Sanctuary to meet some colorful inhabitants.
Things to do in Wellington
1. Neo Cafe & Eatery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 188 reviews
Neo Cafe & Eatery offers contemporary NZ cafe cuisine celebrating local artisan producers & suppliers and is continually developing exciting offerings for Wellington’s legion of foodies. Our seasonal menu specialises in all day brunch, fresh salads, in-house baking and caters to a range of diets including gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan. Neo has a clean modern aesthetic which offers a relaxed environment to our inner-city clientele. We’d love to seat you at a table so you can enjoy the warmth of our space and the excellent coffee, beverage and food offerings.
Reviewed By Gloucester68 - Sydney
Went for coffee and cake on a Sunday morning. The place was packed. We were lucky that a young lady gave up her table for us as she was happy to be on the bar stools. ( thank you!) Good coffee and home made Louise cake which was also very good. Just lacked some cream on the side for the total overindulgent experience. Friendly, hard working staff. Prompt service. Everything coming out of the kitchen looked good.
2. Chameleon Restaurant
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 366 reviews
The menu selection changes seasonally and offers some of the best locally sourced produce . The Chameleon menu is intelligent and original but it's also comforting and flavoursome. The wine list offers an array of taste from around the world with special focus on New Zealand ,the glass pour selection changes regularly to harmonise with our food menu. Chameleon service is welcoming and hospitable with genuine attention to every guest visiting our Restaurant. ONE HAT 2017 Cuisine New Zealand Good Food Awards
Reviewed By Thadanim - Hong Kong, China
Food is amazing. Service was good, it lacks ambiance, it feels like you are eating in a up market food hall. Would I go they're again, absolutely I would as the food wad amazing but if you want a perfect night of everything then this misses out on the ambiance/mood/setting.
3. Hummingbird Eatery & Bar
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 387 reviews
Hummingbird is a multi-award winning eatery and bar founded in 2000. It was fully refurbished in 2012, with an increased focus on serving delicious, unpretentious, sensibly priced food and world class cocktails. Open Tuesday through Saturday from 3pm until late, for dinner, drinks, cocktails and good times.
Reviewed By Pepperjackm - Texas
Open Tuesday thru Saturday, from 3 pm, we had the lamb for 2, for $70, a complete meal plus we had take away [doggie bag or left offers/to go].
Wife's Manhattan, wa[s great, cherry please, gave option orange slice, with the big ice cube for those that want cool drink not watered down. I had Hendricks summer mule, Hendricks gin, lime, elderflower [ cucumber liquor],mint, ginger beer, and cucumber slices ] . Got introduced to this summer drink in England .
Service really good, kitchen good but sometimes timing lacks a little.
Doors are usually closed so can look out at the street or sit out there, or lacking the energy and volume of the children on the street, sit and talk to the ones you are with.
If we had time we would go there again.
4. Pizza Pomodoro
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 200 reviews
Pizza Pomodoro was founded in 2000 and since the first day has specialised in producing authentic pizzas as eaten in Italian pizzerias. Pizza Pomodoro is a small outlet, we cater to mainly takeaway and Delivery, but we do have two tables available for small groups and can cater for a group of 6. NOTE the pizza is eaten out of the box. As of 2013, our pizza can now be ordered and eaten at Goldings Free Dive Bar, adjacent to the pizzeria.
Reviewed By Rhys G
My wife, kids and I shared a few takeaway pizzas from this place. The menu was pretty small, but the pizzas were all high quality. The one with truffle and mushroom was incredible, and I'd happily make a point of ordering it again if I ever go back Wellington. As a nice surprise, the tiramisu was one of the nicest I've had - not too sweet and not too creamy.
5. Logan Brown
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1 reviews
The Taste of Our Place - Kia Ora, Kai, Kaitiaki. At Logan Brown, you'll experience a welcoming, inspiring and genuine taste of our place, our people and the produce that makes you proud to be a New Zealander. We opened in December Friday the 13th in 1996 and decades later it is way different but still the same! We have evolved with dining trends, service styles, taken opportunities with new product and techie innovations and of course will continue to do so. What has never changed is the sharing with our guests our true passion for our craft, our community and our country. We want everyone to be as proud as we are about New Zealand’s environment, the land and seas bounty, and the amazing people who harvest or produce from it. Working closely with these passionate producers inspires and excites the team who are proud to share their stories, and we always welcome new seasons and new to the market produce from suppliers and give it a go.
Reviewed By Russ1625 - Neutral Bay, Australia
We started with Bluff oysters...really good but pretty expensive at $6.00 each. The flaw I mention is the heirloom tomatoes. They looked good on plate and well presented, but flavour was not there ( which is why I order them). They were no better than supermarket, vine ripened or truss...very disappointing. I do think chefs should remove from menu when they cannot access the right produce. We both had the Venison...outstanding and quite superb...perfectly cooked. We would return to repeat. Excellent Central Otago Pinot went very well. Staff excellent and beautiful dining space in old bank building.
6. Ortega Fish Shack
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1 reviews
Fresh NZ Seafood
Reviewed By David E - Leicester, United Kingdom
We liked the ambience in this restaurant even though it was very noisy. We ate the swordfish tartare, the scampi ceviche, the snapper and the grouper. I really wanted to like the food and the dishes were, I suppose, reasonable but certainly not outstanding. Apart from what I thought to be rather mediocre cooking across the board (good fish does not need to be messed about with too much), the grouper was cold when it arrived (although replaced by a new warm one once I complained).
The most upsetting incident was when a waitress removed my plate whilst I was still eating and then accused me of being rude when I remonstrated. In fairness the management were very apologetic and did knock the cost of a few drinks off our bill, but the incident did ruin my evening. On a positive note there was an extensive wine list including a large number of wines by the glass. I don’t understand how this restaurant gets such good reviews on TA.
7. The Larder
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 342 reviews
Reviewed By yorkandbeyond - York, United Kingdom
Perfect for breakfast, brunch or lunch. Stunning food and very friendly staff. A must visit for a treat
8. The Thistle Inn
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 571 reviews
Reviewed By Raoul M - Stonington, Connecticut
very convenient for work when I am in Wellington but always a little underwhelmed. The beer selection is OK, but not outstanding and the food is basic bar snacks. Ambience is nice but I feel like it lacks a little of the character it should have retained
9. Fratelli
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 208 reviews
Reviewed By Suzan H - Wellington, New Zealand
I have been eating out a lot lately and had some really disappointing meals - this was not one of them. This meal was really delicious. I started with the Suppli al telefono - the sauce was amazing.For the main I had Gnocchi di patate which was good but a little too much oil for me.I finished with the cannoli which was so good. The timing of the service was perfect. I'm not an expert in Italian food but I think that this place is good.
10. Cafe Polo
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 139 reviews
Reviewed By 255115Travelbug - Wellington, New Zealand
I must be in the minority as I found this place terrible! Had lunch today, check out the photo of my 'charcoal' short rib - it was like eating straw. Told the waitress, she said that's the way it is! The salad had little flavour but lots of chilli. See photo of our platter, 3 of the 5 plates also had chilli!
It wasn't even a nice spicy flavour, they just chucked random chilli in. There were also FLIES everywhere, at least 20, all over the food/cups and on my baby's face! Told the waitress, she said that it was normal for them. To top it off my coffee was served lukewarm. Terrible experience overall.
I live locally in Miramar and normally frequent the Larder (our favourite) and Park Kitchen. Have been here a couple times for dinner and it was 'ok', so decided to try it for lunch. Cost $60 for two of us - you can get much better value and quality elsewhere.
